Treatment of textile materials



March 1939- R. w, MONCRIEFF El AL 2,149,535

TREATMENT OF TEXTILE MATERIALS Filed Sept. 10, 1956 ROBERT W MONCRIEFF PERCY H- MLLER INVENTOPS Patented Mar. '7, 1939 Robert Wighton Moncrieff and Percy Henry Miller, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application September 10, 1936, Serial N0. 100,102

10 Claims.

This invention relates to the treatment of textile materials, and is particularly concerned with the treatment of yarns while they are travelling .in the form of a warp or sheet.

In the treatment of yarns in warp or sheet form it is often desirable to guide the yarns in that form by means of one, or generally several reeds, combs or the like. The proper spacing of the yarns and the. operation of threading them by hand into the reeds or combs presents great difficulty and, even when carried out by skilled operatives, is a tedious and time wasting operation. It is an object ofthe present invention to provide means whereby the yarns to be treated in warp or sheet form may be mechanically divided and arranged in the reeds or combs which are to guide them.

According to the present invention the division and arrangement of the yarns is effected by the provision of a dividing reed which is drawn in the direction of travel of the yarns and in contact with them. The reed is then returned out of contact with the yarns, this operation being repeated as many times as is necessary until the yarns have been combed out and correctly deposited in an orderly warp or sheet form.

Each passage, of the dividing reed in contact with the yarns brings the yarns into a more orderly form, and this form is preserved while the dividing reed is returning out of contact with the yarns by one or more fixed reeds on to which the yarns are dropped by the withdrawal of the dividing reed prior to its return. The fixed reeds referred to may be used to guide the yarns during the operation to which they are to be subjected when they have been brought into warp or sheet form.

In order to carry out the invention the dividing reed is caused to follow a closed path, part of the path taking the reed in contact with the yarns, while at the end of the part the reed is withdrawn from the yarns, and returned by another route to the beginning again. Suitable means, such as guide cams and driving mechanlsm,'are provided to cause the reed to follow the desired path.

The invention is especially useful in arranging yarns for the liquid treatment thereof by running them through baths of treating liquid, and is particularly well adapted for use in connection with processes for stretching yarns of artificial filaments, e. g. filaments of cellulose acetate or other derivatives of cellulose in the Presence of an agent adapted to facilitate such a stretching,

Great Britainseptember 30, 1935 as described for example in British Patent No. 371,461.

By way of example a form of apparatus according to the invention and suitable for arranging yarns in warp form for treatment in a bath of treating liquid, for instance for stretching cellulose derivative yarns in warp form, is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which 7 Fig. 1 is a shortened longitudinal vertical section taken on the line I-l in Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatical view of the apparatus in operation; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are side and end elevations respectively of a reed used in the apparatus.

The apparatus comprises a bath l at each end of which are disposed three parallel rollers 2 of which one is disposed between and above the other two, the yarns being caused to pass over and under these rollers at each end of the bath in order that they may be forwarded by the rollers.. If the apparatus is being employed for stretching cellulose derivative yarns, the rollers are driven at different peripheral speeds and the yarns stretched accordingly.

Along the length of the bath there extends a rotatable shaft 3 having two deep helical grooves 4 running in opposite directions. Fitting round the shaft .is a nut 5 provided with a sliding eye guided by a further shaft 6 immediately above the grooved shaft, and thenut is connected to a cradle i having vertical side members 8, one on each side of the bath, suitably and rigidly connected together. The side members carry grooved wheels 9, fitting on runners l0 extending the length of the bath. At the lower end of each of the vertical side members of the cradle there is a vertical slot in which is slidably mounted a bearing member ll of phosphor bronze for a movable reed l2 which extends from one bearing member to the other across the bath so as to span the yarns.

The reed is preferably of the kind described in U. S. application S. No. 68,388 filed March 12, 1936, consisting of a porcelain or metal rod having a series of parallel circumferential grooves along its length, the yarns to be guided by the reed falling into and being spaced by the grooves. A suitable form of reed is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, which represent side and end elevations respectivelyof the reed. In order to reduce friction the reed is'mounted so as to be freely rotatable.

-At about the level of the reed on each side of the bath there is a cam track l3 into which fits a follower l4 extending from the bearing member carrying the reed. Each cam track has two grooves I 5, one above the other, extending the length of the bath and at each end there is a switch cam I6, the switch cam at the beginning of the cam track being held downwards by means of a spring while that at the end of the track is held upwards.

In the nut 5 which fits around the helically grooved shaft 3 there is a rotatable pin which fits into the helical groove 4. Means are provided for rotating the grooved shaft so that the engagement of the pin with the groove causes the nut 5, the cradle l, and the reed I2 carried. thereby to travel along the bath from beginning to end. During this motion the cam followers M on the bearing members H are engaged in the upper grooves of the cam tracks l3. n reaching the end of the bath the switch cams l6 are pushed downwards by the cam followers. At this stage the pin engaging the helical groove 4 runs from "one groove into the other, the pin rotating in order to accommodate itself to the change of angle from one groove to the other.

By this means the' nut 5, the cradle I, and the reed l2 are caused to travel back along the length of the bath, the switch cams I6 at the end of the bath forcing the cam followers 14 into the lower grooves of the cam tracks l3 and causing the bearing members H and the reed H to drop to a lower position in the bath. When the reed reaches the beginning of the bath again the motion is again reversed, the switch cams at the beginning of the bath being pushed upwards to allow the followers to pass, and then causing the followers to travel along the upper grooves of the cam tracks. The helically grooved shaft 3 is driven by spiral gears l1, I8 at one end, the gear l8 being driven from the shaft of one of the rollers 2. On the guide shaft 6 disposed above the helieally grooved shaft 3 there is a buffer member 19 at each end, i. e. a stop backed by means of a helical spring, the eye of the nut guided by the shaft 6 engaging with the buffer so as to smooth out the reversal of motion at each end of the traverse of the reed.

In the operation of the device the yarns which are to be subjected to treatment are arranged roughly in the form of a sheet following the desired path under and over the rollers 2 and the fixed reeds placed in the bath to guide the yarns during the operation, the yarns passingover the reed l2 of the present invention which is to be employed to bring them into an orderly arrangement. The dividing apparatus is then set into motion and the reed I2 is carried along the bath from beginning to end beneath and in contact with the yarns. At the end of traverse of the reed, the reed drops sharply on the cam followers engaging and operating the switch cams 16 at the end of the cam tracks l3. In dropping, the reed allows the yarns to fall upon a fixed reed 20 disposed just before the three rollers 2 at the end of the bath.

After dropping, the reed l2 returns to the beginning of the bath out of contact with the yarns and so the operation is repeated, the reed rising at the beginning of the .bath into contact with the yarns again. In this manner the yarns are separated from one another and deposited in the fixed reeds disposed in the bath, the operation being carried on until all the yarns have been separated from each other. In Fig. 3, in which the yarns A are shown travelling through the apparatus, the cradle l is shown in thick lines in its return from the end of the bath to the beginning out of contact with the yarns, and in dotted lines in its travel in the opposite direction in contact with the yarns.

The yarns may be carried through a plurality of baths of the kind described above, each having its sets of rollers and its dividing apparatus. After the yarns have been satisfactorily arranged in the first bath the dividing apparatus of the second is set in motion, and so the yarns are arranged in orderly form throughout their length.

While the apparatus has been described above as being operated by a. single heli'cally grooved shaft at one side of the bath, this arrangement being suitable for narrow baths, when wider the mechanism in order that the mechanism may be set into and out of operation when desired and need not be left running during the treatment of the yarns.

Having described our invention what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. Apparatus for dividing and arranging yarns into warp or sheet form, comprising means for forwarding the yarns, a dividing reed adapted to span the yarns, means for bringing said reed into engagement with the yarns at a point along their length, means for drawing said reed in the direction of travel of the yarns and in contact with them, and means for withdrawing the said reed from engagement with the yarns and returning it to the point where it is brought into engagement with the yarns.

2. Apparatus for dividing and arranging yarns into warp or sheet form, comprising means for forwarding the'yarns, a dividing reed disposed drawing said reed in the direction of travel. of a the yarns and in contact with them, means for dropping said reed out of contact with the yarns,

and means for returning said reed to the point dividing reed adapted to span the yarns, means for bringing said reed into engagement with the yarns, means for drawing said reed in the direction of'travel of the yarns and in contact with them so as to effect a preliminary division of the yarns and bring them towards a sheet form, means for withdrawing the said reed from engagement with the yarns, a fixed reed into which the yarns are dropped on withdrawal of the dividing reed, so as to maintain the division of the yarns efiected by the dividing reed, and means .to cause the dividing reed to repeat its operation until the required division of the yarns has been completed to leave the yarns in the form of a sheet in the fixed reed.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the reed is connected to a member which is adapted to move in a closed circuit along two tracks connected at each end by means of a switch cam.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the said reed is connected to a nut fitted on a rotatable shaft provided with two helical grooves running in opposite directions, said nut being adapted by rotation of the shaft to move backwards and forwards along it.

'7. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the dividing reed is connected to a nut fitted on a rotatable shaft provided with two helical grooves running in opposite directions, said nut being adapted by rotation of the shaft to move backwards and forwards along it.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the dividing reed is in the form of a cylinder with a plurality of annular grooves and is adapted to rotate freely when in contact with the travelling yarns- 9. Method of dividing and arrang g travelling yarns into warp or sheet form, comprising causing the yarns to follow a tortuous path into a bath of treating medium, combing the yarns in the direction of travel thereof so as to effect a preliminary division of the yarns, and bring them towards a sheetform while passing through said bath, holding the yarns in the disposition so effected, repeating the combing and holding operations until the required division of the yarns has been completed to leave the yarns in parallel relationship in the form of a sheet and causing said yarns to follow a further tortuous path out of the bath.

10. Method of dividing and arranging travelling yams into warp or sheet form in an operation including passing the yarns through a stretching bath, comprising combing the yarns in the direction of travel through the bathso as to effect a preliminary division of the yarns and bring them towards a sheet form, maintaining this preliminary division of the yarns while still permitting them to continue their travel through the bath, and repeating the combing operation to effect further division with intermediate maintaining of the improved divided condition of the yarns until the required division of the yarns has been completed to leave the still travelling yarns to pass through the bath in parallel relationship in the form of a sheet.

ROBERT WIGHTON MONCRIEFF. PERCY HENRY MILLER. 

